At Monday’s city council meeting Mayor Butch Berry introduced a proposed ordinance that would establish a procedure by which the city would get repaid by property owners whose properties had been subject to mitigation or rehabilitation by the city because of violations of the Clean City Ordinance. Section 1 of the proposed ordinance stated if the city expended funds in this way, “the City may file a lien against the real property for the cost as authorized by Arkansas Code.”
Amount of the lien would be determined at a public hearing before council, and that amount would be added to the property tax assessment, a determination that could be appealed in Circuit Court. The ordinance goes on to state, “The amount so determined at the hearing plus ten percent penalty… may be certified by the city Council by resolution to the tax collector of the county in which the property is located, to be placed on the tax books as delinquent taxes and collected accordingly.”
Aldermen asked about alternative ways of recouping expenses so property owners would not be overburdened by the property tax increase. City attorney Tim Weaver replied that council could ascribe a certain percentage of the expense to the property tax and negotiate a settlement plan for the balance. There was also the possibility the lien could not be repaid and the property sold according to state law.
Berry said he did not expect aldermen to decide on the ordinance at that meeting since they had just seen it for the first time. Early sentiment around the table was positive about it, however, and they will consider it at the Dec. 10 meeting.